When Nicholas Carr’s article “Is Google Making Us Stupid?” hit newsstands in the July/August 2008 edition of The Atlantic, the reaction was predictably vociferous. The essay itself – a 4,175 word editorial…
NAPLAN tests – the literacy and numeracy tests given to primary and secondary students – are causing health problems and promoting a culture of “teaching to the test”. A national study released today surveyed…
Why is the University of Sydney powerless to stop bullying behaviour in what the public sees as “its colleges”? This has been a constant refrain in recent weeks as the controversy surrounding the behaviour…
Megan Clement, The Conversation and Sunanda Creagh, The Conversation
The Vocational Education and Training sector (VET) is doing more to address Australia’s skills shortage than private providers, according to a new paper from the Centre for Policy Development. The paper’s…
In announcing the terms of reference for a productivity commission inquiry into childcare, opposition leader Tony Abbott said “Australian families need a child care system that is not only affordable…
Last weekend, The Guardian ran an article entitled “Do online courses spell the end for the traditional university?” Had I been the one writing that article, it would have been precisely two letters long…
According to the Federal Government, Australian public universities need to be more inclusive, particularly when it comes to enrolling poorer students. They’ve set a target to have 20% of undergraduate…
Duolingo, a new free language-learning site, says it can help you learn a language for free while simultaneously using your learning exercises to translate the web. A pretty big claim, but at the heart…
A new report shows that one in four young Australians are not fully engaged in employment or training despite government targets aiming to get more young people qualified or into a job. But compared to…
The recent decision by French President Francois Hollande to abolish homework from French schools has reignited the long running debate about homework. This debate has been around for more than a century…
“What are your legs? Springs. Steel springs”. Archy’s nervous mutterings before he sprints into gunfire are familiar in Australian history classes. So are the tale of Simpson and Duffy and their “bravest…
Last month, a Victorian tribunal found that the state department of education did not discriminate against children opting out of Special Religious Instruction (SRI) classes. The plaintiffs – parents who…
All human societies construct and teach creation myths or origin stories. These are large, extraordinarily powerful, but often ramshackle narratives that try and tell the story of how everything came to…
Apparently, teachers and principals have no need to hear about research on international education policy and are too sensitive to deal with “controversial” ideas. Last week, the University of Melbourne’s…
When should sex education begin for children? According to some parent groups who advised the Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority (ACARA), not until grades 5 and 6. Under this pressure…
“Most schools used to call it Muck Up Day, but we saw that as being something negative.” So said year 12 co-ordinator Annette Hall of Presbyterian Ladies’ College – one of many schools who have changed…
It’s been a long time since I have been in a pub at 10.30am but that’s where you would have found me last Saturday at the Great Northern Hotel in Chatswood, Sydney. I wasn’t there to get on the punt or…
Resisting technological change is futile, according to the Minister for Tertiary Education, Chris Evans. So how should Australian universities respond to the technological change of online education? This…
From preschool to PhD, education is afflicted by a malaise. Many students, teachers, parents and politicians, feel that with all the effort and money spent, we should be doing better. Salman Khan, founder…